Star Crossed
by MzHissyFits
Summary: How did Sirius and Remus end up bachelors? Here's the story of their botched romances, SBOC, RLOC. Kind of cute, kind of sad. Seems love can't conquer everything like a 12 year long imprisonment and a coveted secret.
1. The End, Part One

**Star Crossed**

_Chapter One  
The End_

… Sirius's Story …

All the time he had been in Azkaban, Sirius had been unable to think of anything in his life that he had enjoyed. He had forgotten most everything that had happened to him, except for all his unhappy experiences of course.

One of these unhappy experiences always reminded him of something good, though. Rather, this particular unhappy experience reminded him of _someone_ good. Someone who embodied a majority of his good memories. The majority of these memories had been swept away, but he had never really forgotten – thanks to that day, about a month after he had been sentenced to a life sentence in Azkaban.

Sirius found himself thinking about that day a lot now, just to make sure that he wouldn't forget.

_One day_, he thought, _one day, I'm going to find her and explain everything, and one day I'll make her understand … _

Sirius had known, back when they had caught him, that he'd never be able to prove his innocence. He vowed that someday he would, but he knew that he'd have to wait for that day. Sirius hadn't been thinking of much but Lily, James, and Peter. He didn't have the time, and he didn't really have the ability to think of anything let alone anyone else.

That changed when Cecilia Donnelly came to visit Sirius after about a month into his imprisonment.

Sirius had woke that morning, freezing cold: a Dementor was entering his cell. He was scared stiff – why was the bloody creature there that early? For a moment he thought it was there to give him the Kiss, but he forced the thought down with some common sense.

He was escorted out of the main jail into the Warden's chambers, which were far away from where the Dementors stayed. They put him in a room and left the area, going back to the jail. Sirius was feeling like himself again. That infernal cold was seeping away, and he could remember things. He spent his fifteen minutes of waiting just thinking. He thought about his favorite books (the ones with happy endings), he thought about days he had spent as a dog bugging people all around London, he thought about days spent at the Potter homestead, and there he stopped. The Potters … swallowing his grief, Sirius thought about their wedding. He thought about the summers he had spent as a teenager at James' house. He thought about their days at school, excluding Peter's involvement in them. Sighing, he decided to think about other things, like kittens and puppies. At that moment, the Warden opened the door.

The job of Warden was equivalent to that of Jury Duty, which Sirius had learned about in Muggle Studies (he was smart enough to study International Muggle Studies, and he also had Lily to help him). They only did the job for about a week and this week, it was somebody Sirius knew: Priscilla Pine. She had been on the Quidditch team with James and had been the previous captain. Although not surprised, Black was disconcerted at the way she glared at him. Of course, the way that Sirius had glared at Peter had been much worse.

"You have a visitor," Priscilla said scathingly. "You should really thank her when she comes in. It was by her special request that you two have this meeting outside the presence of the Dementors."

"Will do," Sirius said tiredly.

Priscilla stepped aside and let his visitor in. All Sirius could do as soon as he saw who had come was stare and blink. Priscilla closed the door behind Cecilia and Sirius stood up nervously.

Cecilia walked up to Sirius and he held his breath. She slapped him – _hard_.

Sirius staggered. He really shouldn't have been surprised – Cecilia had been a good friend with Lily, a bridesmaid in the Potters' wedding. What had he been expecting, a kiss?

Looking back at Cecilia, he saw that her eyes were full of tears. Looking a little more closely, he wouldn't have been surprised if she had been crying a whole month. There were bags under her eyes so dark it looked like she hadn't slept for weeks. Surprisingly enough, Sirius still saw her as the most beautiful woman on Earth.

"_How could you?_" she said.

She didn't yell. She didn't even hiss. Even so, Sirius felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. He even felt guilty, even though he knew that he was innocent. He was innocent. This thought made him angry. The love of his life assumed that he had condemned his best friends to death. How could she?

Sirius turned his back on her and walked away, to angry to speak. Turning sharply around he said, "How could I what?" He knew it would make her mad, but at the moment he didn't care.

"You betrayed them!" Cecy nearly screamed. "All this time, you kept saying it was Remus … you betrayed him too! What's worse, you _murdered_ Peter! What possessed you to do it?"

"I never said Remus was the spy!" Sirius exclaimed. "Don't accuse me of that, when you know very well that I didn't say that. I'm _sorry_ that Remus got the blame. It shouldn't have happened."

"You let me believe that he was betraying Lily and James!"

"Because I believed it too!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Sirius was about to tell her. As angry as she was making him right now, he loved her too dearly to lie to her. He sighed, knowing she wouldn't understand. "Look," he said impatiently, "are you happy now? I'm miserable here. I'm supposedly paying my due. If you wanted to make sure that I'm paying for my actions, I guess that you're well satisfied. Just leave."

"No," Cecy said, quivering with either rage or possiblygrief. "What are you talking about?"

"What? Being miserable? I would have thought that obvious."

"What do you mean by you believed that Remus was the spy?" Cecy said. "It was you!"

Sirius sighed. He didn't want to explain this to her. "Why don't you just go? It's obvious that I no longer mean anything to you. Why do you give a shit about anything I say?"

"Just answer the question, Sirius!"

"I can't."

"Fine. Then answer this: why did you do it? Why did you betray us all?"

_And so we reach the moment of truth_, Sirius thought. Looking Cecy straight in the eye, he said quietly, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You're probably right. But I still want an answer."

"If you wanted me to suffer, mission accomplished, all right? I know you think I'm a murderer. I now know that you think I'm the scum of life. You probably know how much that's killing me right now."

Cecy stared at him. Sirius expected her to scream and shout all the reasons he was supposed to be the scum of life. She didn't. Instead, in barely more than a whisper, she said, "You don't know how much I hate you right now."

"Thanks, Cecy," Sirius responded, sitting down heavily in his chair.

"I don't understand it," Cecy said, stammering in a very un-Cecy like way. She was usually so certain and calm. Sirius looked up at her, wondering if it was possible that the smallest bit of her still loved him. It was probably wishful thinking.

"I just don't understand it," Cecy continued. "I came here – I thought – I expected to find … some … I don't know, _monster_ sitting in that chair." She glared at Sirius. "And instead, I come here and I find that you're still a … a … you're still … Sirius. You're still a _person_. You don't know how much I'm hating you for that."

"You're not making much sense," Sirius said.

Cecy sat down opposite of Sirius. She put her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this," she said, her words coming out muffled. "You were supposed to sit there, looking cool and evil, and tell me that you actually hated James' innards, and that you never really loved me – that you only pretended so that Lily wouldn't keep you away from the family because you didn't get along with her friends."

"If that's what you expected, why did you come?"

She sniffed and turned her face up at Sirius. "As stupid as it seems, I _wanted_ you to say that." She looked surprised at this revelation herself."You were supposed to be evil – a monster, someone I wouldn't mind hating."

"And I'm not?"

Tears welled up in her eyes again. "No," she said. "You're still Sirius. You're still the man I love. But now the man I love is a man capable of murdering his best friends. And you still think of them as your friends. You're confusing me, Sirius. I know that you loved them, just as I know that you love me. How could you do it? How could you betray them? That's all I want to know."

There was a silence. _Well,_ Sirius thought, _now or never_. "I _didn't_ betray them."

There was another silence. Then, "What?"

Sirius sighed. "Look, I didn't do it. Don't ask me how – you won't believe me. But I would have expected _you_ of all people to know that I wouldn't be capable of that."

"Don't turn this around on me, Sirius," Cecy said warningly. "You say something like that, you better be able to back it up."

"I can't."

"Can't what?"

"Prove it. If I could, do you think I would have let them drag me here?"

"What do you mean?"

"The evidence is gone," Sirius said. "It ran off on its four revolting pink feet, swishing its furless tail behind it."

"What?"

"It was Peter."

"_What?_"

"Peter sold Lily and James to Voldemort. It was him that had been passing information to him for a year. It wasn't me, and it wasn't Remus. It was Peter. Why do you think I attacked him? If I was really 'in' with Voldemort, what the hell would I want with Peter?"

"Peter found _you_!"

"Do you honestly believe that he was capable of doing that?" Sirius asked her. "My parents couldn't find me when I ran off to James' place when I was sixteen. Peter wouldn't be able to track me down, even if I wanted him to find me."

"Don't you dare… Peter wasn't ... it wasn't his fault!" Cecy cried, but Sirius could see she was confused.

"Peter isn't dead," Sirius said to her.

"How is that possible?" she asked. "Eyewitnesses said he just disappeared. Records say that there was no trace of anyone having Apparated during that time. He didn't just vanish into thin air!"

"Peter had his ways," Sirius said.

"You just said he was incompetent."

"Yes, but this was a skill that James and I taught him ourselves," Sirius said. "He was an illegal Animagi."

"_What?_"

"Yeah," Sirius said. "He disappeared all right. He disappeared right down into the sewer, with all the other rats."

"But … Peter?" Cecy asked. "He became an Animagi? With only your help, and James' help?"

"Yes," Sirius said.

Cecy blinked at him. Sirius saw that she was having her doubts about the original story, as released by the Ministry.

"James and I became Animagi too. Now _that_ I can prove," Sirius said, promptly turning into his bear sized dog shape. Resuming his human form, he asked, "Well? Do you believe me?"

"Almost," Cecy said. "But I can't quite believe that Peter could turn himself into a rat."

"Why not?" Sirius asked. "Why do you think there were no remains found?"

At this time, Sirius realized that something was wrong.

Cecy's expression turned from confused to angry and cold.

"No remains?" she asked.

"N-none," Sirius said, "right?"

Cecy didn't say anything.

"Right, Cecy?" Sirius said. "You believe me, right?"

"They found a finger," Cecy said flatly.

"What?"

"The biggest bit of him they could find," Cecy continued, "was his finger."

Sirius stared at her. He didn't get it. How was that possible?

"You know what I think?" Cecy said. "I think that you're really who you seem to be, but somehow, someway, your family must have gotten to you. How else would you have gotten the idea to turn the Potters in to Voldemort? And now you're saying you didn't do it. Why lie like that, when you _did_ do it? You're in denial. You just can't live with yourself, knowing what you've done. Now, instead of Remus, poor Peter gets the blame. No, Sirius, you aren't evil. You're just _weak_."

Again, all Sirius could do was stare. He was sure he looked like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. He didn't get it.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Cecy said, still coldy, but with genuine regret in her tone, "but I can't believe you. You just gave me false hope and took it away. How cruel can you be? No. I'm sorry. I can't buy that story." She said this last part more to herself than to Sirius.

"But you can buy the fact that I still love you, right?" Sirius said, sadly. "I always will. If you still love me, try and keep the faith that one day I'll prove my innocence. I swear."

Cecy blinked at him. Then, ignoring his last statement, she said, "Thank you for this lovely chat. I know now that I'm done with you."

Sirius felt his heart stop. It just ... stopped beating. He wondered whether or not it still worked. Perhaps the cogs froze?

Cecy continued, "Good-bye, love, this is the last time you'll ever see me." Cecy wiped the last of her tears away, making it clear that they were the last tears she'd ever shed over Sirius Black.

Sirius was still sitting there, waiting for his heart to start again._What the hell is wrong?_ Sirius thought. _The screws have to start moving sometime. Don't tell me my heart isbroken, because that would be very inconvenient_.

Cecy turned away, but then she stopped. Sirius felt his heart not only start beating again, but beat twice as fast as normal. _Doubletime_, he thought.

Cecy looked at Sirius, looking sad, but without the tears. She squatted next to his chair and he looked down at her.

"I can't say that I'm still going to love you forever," Cecy said. "I know I swore that I would, which goes show that swearing isn't a good thing. I'm breaking that oath, I hope you don't mind. Maybe time will prove that I'm never going to love anyone else but you. Maybe time will prove that you were only my first love, but certainly not the best or the only. I don't know. You'll probably never know the final verdict. There's nothing I can tell you, really. I _can_ say, … " she paused, searching for the right words, "I can say that I'll always love what we were. But we've had our chance. Now it's time that we say good-bye."

She held his hand and kissed him softly. She left the room and Sirius realized that she left something with him. Opening his hand, he saw the glint of a diamond in his palm … her engagement ring.

That was the last time he ever saw Cecilia Donnelly.

**Author's Note**: Well, how was it? Review please! And keep reading - Lupin's back story is coming next! _The End, Part Two_ is already in progress! The full story idea for **Star Crossed** is nearly done too, I just have to write it


	2. The End, Part Two

Author's Note: In case anyone was wondering, most of this stuff takes place in flashbacks. Where are we reminiscing from? Harry's fourth year.

**Star Crossed**

_Chapter Two   
The End, Part Two_

… Remus's Story …

Remus stared blankly at the wall of his tiny flat. Thanks to that blasted Umbridge woman, he had just lost his job. It was at times like these that he thought maybe he wasn't cut out for life. Perhaps he _wasn't_ meant for something more. If this was living, he'd much rather prefer to have gone the way of the dodo.

_No_, Remus thought_, I don't mean that_.

But sometimes, the thought came up.

He sighed and poured himself a small glass of Whipple Wine's finest year – 1292. It had been a Christmas present from an old friend. Remus smiled as he thought that even as a convict, Sirius could get away with so much.

Sighing once more, Remus tried to remember he had a glass of wine with someone. It had been before Lily and James were murdered. It was probably the last few months that Remus, James, and Sirius were still truly happy.

It was a beautiful afternoon. There was a slight breeze, which was odd because it was summertime – and not just _any_ summer day, Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Remus had chosen the date specifically. He did not want the sun to fall too soon. Both he and Julie had a certain dislike for the dark hours.

The two of them were picnicking someplace in Italy, where Julie's family lived and they had just begun to walk to the river.

"I've never known a day so perfect," Julie said, her auburn curls whipping about her face in the breeze. The trees behind her whispered their agreement. "You'll have a tough time making tomorrow as good."

Remus laughed. "That's too bad, because every day I spend with you is pretty much perfect." It was cheesy, and it sounded so mushy, but it was true.

"Touché," Julie responded, smiling. "It seems that you've made my life brighter, Remus J. Lupin. I'm glad to know I've done the same for you."

Remus's eyes lit up as he had an idea. With a flick of his wand, he conjured a violin, which promptly began to play of its own accord. He bowed. "May I have this dance, Ms. Julianne?"

"You may," Julie laughed and curtsied.

After a few moments, Remus said, "I hope your family will take our engagement well."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Julie said, as she spun into his arms, "In case you haven't noticed, they absolutely adore you."

"I do have my charms," Remus said, smiling. "But they're awfully inquisitive of my health."

"Perhaps," Julie said. "You can't blame them though. I mean, it shows that they care, doesn't it?"

Remus had other ideas, but he nodded in agreement anyway. He didn't want to worry Julie. She worried enough as it was – what with the fact that almost all of her friends were involved in the Order of the Phoenix. She didn't need anything else on her mind.

"Why can't we just tell them?" Julie said. "I'm sure they wouldn't care. I don't."

"Yes," Remus said, "but that's because you're . . . you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Julie chuckled good-naturedly.

Remus looked into her eyes for a moment before answering. "You've got to be the most understanding and gentle person I know. You always see the best in everybody, whether they deserve it or not."

"You deserve it."

"Some wouldn't think so."

"Then too bad for them," Julie said. "Because you are a great guy, and that guy is the person I'm spending the rest of my life with."

"Glad to hear it."

"So _why_ can't we tell my family that you're a werewolf?" Julie persisted.

Remus sighed. "I admit it. I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

Remus heaved another sigh. They had had this conversation a few too many times. "I'm afraid that they'll judge me. And I'm afraid of the final verdict. What if they decide that I'm not good enough for you?"

"Is that their decision?" Julie said patiently. "Or is that my choice to make?"

"It's your choice," Remus said. "But I've seen how close you are to your family. I know that you love me, I do. But I know you love them too, and if they deemed me unworthy of you . . . look, Jules, I just don't want to put you in the position to choose."

Julie smiled sadly at him. "See, now that's what I love about you. You say that I'm the person that thinks about everyone else, but you're the only one who always thinks of me."

Remus led her into a dip. "And can you blame me?" he asked before he kissed her.

"When does the full moon appear?" Julie asked Remus as they brushed their teeth in the tiny bathroom of her parents' villa.

Remus spat out a mouthful of mint. "Next Tuesday," he said.

"Oh," Julie said. "I guess that means I cancel dinner."

"Sorry sweet," Remus said, before rinsing his mouth out.

Julie put on her shoes as Remus threw his shabby, although not completely careworn, robes on.

"Remus," she said, as she fastened his robes.

"Yeah?" he said distractedly as he ran a wet comb through his hair.

"I know why you don't want to tell everyone about your . . . wild side," Julie said, thinking she could have found a better phrase when Remus began chuckling. "Oh, shut it. But the thing is, if you don't want to tell them you're a werewolf, fine, but if you're doing it for me it really isn't necessary. I can live without my family."

Remus froze. With the comb still halfway across his head he looked down at Julie and said, "You can't be serious. You're much too close with your family. I couldn't ask you to give that kind of relationship up! It was just Dad and I after Mom died, and I'm telling you, small families get pretty lonely. You'd miss having your brothers and cousins over to help us fix up the house, and your sisters to gossip with, and your cousin Stella to decorate, your Mom and her exquisite pasta! And your Dad! I know very well you couldn't live without him."

Julie shrugged and proceeded in brushing lint off his robe. "Obviously, not _all_ of them would shun us."

"Jules, you know very well that your family is a one-minded, many-headed committee. It's all or nothing with them. Decisions are unanimous."

"Well," Julie said indifferently, "I doubt that they would mistrust you because you're a werewolf."

Again, Remus didn't know how to respond. Julie's cousin Tony already mistrusted Remus. At first it had just been because he preferred Julie's last boyfriend to Remus. Now, Tony had moved on to finding out where Remus disappeared to once a month. Still, Remus didn't want to worry Julie. She could keep her hopes, because that's all she had where it concerned werewolves and her family. In fact, her own father was a werewolf hunter. That was something their fathers had had in common (except of course Mr. Lupin had a werewolf as a son). It was too bad that Remus's father was dead.

"So you want us to tell them?" Remus asked.

"Yes," Julie said. "Even if they disown me and send us into exile, I wouldn't mind."

"You wouldn't?" Remus said, disbelievingly.

"No, I wouldn't," Julie said, decisively. "Because I'll have you, and we can start our own family."

"I don't know … " Remus said, uncertainly. He wanted to start a family with Julianne, and have little kids running around, but it would be too dangerous.

"If you're worried about being father werewolf," Julie said, "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. And if it means we don't have kids, then we don't have kids. We'll still have a family though. Or have you forgotten James, Lily, Sirius, Cecy, and Peter? They're family, aren't they? And they certainly have no objections to you being a werewolf."

"You'll miss those family reunions," Remus reminded her uncertainly.

"I don't care," Julie said. "As long as I can be with you, I don't care."

Remus was thoughtful for a moment. He was pretty sure that Julianne's family would react with hostility to the news that they're little Jewel was about to be married to a werewolf. The problem was, she didn't seem to think so. Julie's optimistic view of everyone in her life was a virtue, but it was also a setback. How would she react when she found out that not everyone in her family was as supportive as she hoped they would be? Her heart would break, the same way it always did when someone she was close to disappointed her expectations. How many times would her heart break for her family, and how long would it take to heal? This was what went through Remus's mind.

"Unless you don't want them to know," Julie said hastily. "I mean, you don't usually like being stereotyped as the typical werewolf, I know that. I'm sorry, I should have thought … "

"No," Remus said. "You know me well enough not to have to second guess my feelings. I wouldn't care if they knew, except for the fact that they have so much influence over _your_ life. No, I'm fine, as long as you are. This is your decision. Are you sure you want this?"

"Yes," Julie said strongly. "I'm sure."

"So, after the next full moon then?" Remus asked.

"Yes," Julie said, checking her watch. "Now hurry, you're going to be late."

With a final kiss, Remus Disapparated to Diagon Alley.

Remus broke himself out of his reverie to remember those days when he actually had the opportunity to make something of himself.

They hadn't required certain health information then, so as long as he didn't tell anyone he was a werewolf, and stayed clear of all people when the full moon was out, he had a chance of leading a perfectly normal, successful life. Being a Dark creature somewhat himself, Remus made a study of Defense Against the Dark Arts (it seemed that all four Marauders had reasons to excel in that subject), and he was therefore hired in a private company that dealt with the removal of Dark Creatures for the safety of those who paid them. It wasn't a bad job, and it paid decently. He was just unsure as to how long it would last.

_Not very long_, Remus recalled, taking another small sip of wine. _Not very long at all_.

_Everything good has to end sometimes_, Remus thought. _It always seemed to end too soon.._

* * *

Remus had seen Sirius recently. Remus had popped up in Sirius's little hut somewhere in New Zealand to see to it that Sirius was still alive and well. Their talk turned to the past, as was expected, to happier days. Sirius decided simply to ask the question that had been nagging at him since that day in Azkaban.

"So," he said calmly. "Have you heard from Cecy?"

Remus put down his glass of butterbeer. "Honestly, Sirius? I haven't. She just disappeared after you were … sentenced."

"So you don't know anything?" Sirius said.

"No," Remus said, apologetically. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

Sirius was quiet for a moment. Disappeared, was what Remus had said. What did that mean? Where did she go? He sighed. "Perhaps it's better this way," he said to Remus. "Me, not knowing. Then, maybe, I could keep what few hopes I have left."

"And those are?"

Sirius looked down at his hands and chuckled softly. "I suppose that I just hope that she hasn't forgotten me."

"Cecy wouldn't have."

"No," Sirius said. "I guess she wouldn't."

They drank a few more gulps of butterbeer in silence before Sirius said, "We got some pretty shitty endings, didn't we?"

"That all depends," Remus said. "Change your perception a little, and it doesn't seem like such crap at all."

"How so?"

"When I think of the end," Remus said, "The end … well, I think of those last few days that we were happy. I don't think of … well, I don't like to think about the _very_ end, you know?"

Sirius nodded. He understood why Remus wouldn't want to remember those days. Those were crap all around, for everyone.

"What about you?" Remus said.

"The end?" Sirius smiled sadly. "I just wish I were more like you," he said, sighing. "To be able to remember the good, instead of dwelling on the bad."

"Well," Remus said, "if it gives you any comfort, think about this: the ending wouldn't be so tragic if the rest of it hadn't been so great."

Author's Note: Sappy, and horribly sentimental, but I like it. Hope you liked it too.


	3. Well Met

**Star Crossed**

_Chapter Three_  
_Well Met_

… Sirius's Story …

Sirius and Cecy had known each other a long time – they went to Hogwarts together, after all. But no matter how long they had known each other, they hadn't really _known_ each other.

Sirius, for example, knew that Cecilia Donnelly's family was extremely wealthy – pure-bloods as well (although her father was Irish and her mother Italian), which basically had ruled her out in his earlier days of dating. She may have been one of the smarter girls in his class (she was probably as smart as Lily Evans, but much less hard working (unlike Lily, she never felt as if she had anything to prove, and being part of Sirius' own privileged class, she acted accordingly), one of the prettier ones, she was also known to be quite witty, and although she was popular and sometimes acted haughty (much like Sirius himself) she was known to be generally good-natured. Still, she was not one of the girls who desperately sought Sirius's admiration, even though she knew she could earn it. Nor did she totally avoid him. She remained just a familiar bleep on the outskirts of Mr. Black's radar and neither of them minded that too much.

It had been in their sixth year that Cecilia would have become quite interesting to Sirius, had he not had family problems to worry about. He had enough drama in his private life without adding a girl to it – although he did have brief and often tragic (for the girls anyway) flings whenever he felt like a sixteen-year-old boy not carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anyway, in their sixth year, Cecilia's father began speaking more vehemently against the Dark Arts. He had been afraid to earlier for Cecy's safety (as she was still an only child, and a girl at that) but she had proven that she was quite capable of taking care of herself – at least, that's what she kept assuring her father whenever he hesitated about putting something in a speech, or writing it in a letter, or saying it to a reporter fearing that it would be offensive to certain unmentionables. Of course, Donnelly appeared more frequently throughout the prophet, and although Sirius knew of him (however vaguely) political events of the time didn't interest the sixteen-year-old boy who was trying to figure out the best way to run away from home.

Cecy, on the other hand, knew lots more about Sirius than he did of her. But she knew much less of the kind of person he was. Cecy knew all too well of the origins of the House of Black and their participation in the Dark Arts. Cecilia knew their financial status, their disdain for Muggles and blood-traitors, and their support of Lord Voldemort's ideals. Most of her knowledge of the Black legacy was due to her best friend, Andromeda Black.

Cecy knew little of Sirius because quite frankly, at that age she hadn't cared. She was in love with somebody else at the time: Seth Brodan. He was actually her boyfriend in that year.

The memory of Seth Brodan now made Sirius smile. Not that he thought Seth Brodan was a bad person to be infatuated with, but he knew that it was just infatuation that sixteen-year-old Cecy mistook for love. She made mistakes often, as everyone does. But it didn't matter because she was always the type of girl you could forgive anything. Well, the type of girl that Sirius could always find a way to forgive for anything. Albeit, her last mistake regarding him had hurt profoundly.

No, they hadn't known each other before New Year's of their sixth year at Hogwarts – the day Sirius ran away from home.

He'd just had the biggest row with his parents. Things were thrown, curses were aimed, screams had shattered windows, and finally, Sirius had just walked out of the parlor, into his room, got packed, and exited the premises. The door had slammed behind him.

Numb with anger, Sirius hauled his belongings on his back street after filthy street. He looked so beat up and tattered (Sirius's last few hours hadn't gone so well) that he was mistaken for a tramp at every New Year's party he passed on the stones of those London streets. He had walked for hours before finally, he ran out of the strength to carry his suitcase. He stumbled into an alley and slept where he fell.

Sirius woke a few hours later. He could tell because there were no more fireworks exploding. Sitting up, he realized what had woken him. Some drunken fool was going through his stuff.

Sirius stared in utter bewilderment as the man held up a copy of _Advanced Potion Making_ saying, "Bloody hell, I wonder if I'm still sober."

At this time, Sirius chose to tackle the man. "Did you take anything?"

"Whaddya mean?" the drunkard asked. "You 'cuzing me o' thievin'?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, beginning to search the man's jacket pockets. "Exactly."

Sirius was dealt with a punch to his temple and he fell to the ground. Quickly getting back on his feet, but still dazed, Sirius threw a punch at the man's nose but the man had already progressed in grabbing Sirius around the middle.

Quite suddenly there was a bang and a purple bus appeared. A cheery man in his forties or fifties stepped out onto the sidewalk, bobbing up and down as he recited, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Ernie Prang, and I will be your conductor this evening, and this is Steve Shunpike, who'll be driving you to your destination tonight. Well – "

Ernie Prang blinked at Sirius. Sirius blinked at Ernie Prang. The drunken man had passed out, and began snoring. Sirius and Ernie Prang turned their heads and blinked at him. Sirius realized that he must have stuck out his wand hand when he aimed a punch at the drunk. He was sincerely glad he did because he might not have thought of the Knight Bus for a few hours.

Shunpike stared at Sirius for a moment or two, and then stepped forward to help Sirius with his luggage. "D'you have a destination, son? You did flag us down, right?"

They moved Sirius's stuff onto the bus. "I do need transportation," Sirius said. "But I don't have a destination as of yet. I'll need some time to decide. Here," Sirius said, putting a decent sized quantity of gold in Ernie's hand. "That should cover most everything."

"Right," Ernie said, nodding. "Steve, Gretna Green for Mr. Tyler. Ms. Donnelly says she's quite content going last, so we can drop off everyone else first."

Shunpike nodded and with a bang they were off. As Sirius hobbled to a bed, he heard Shunpike say, "So Ern, wha's that choo were saying 'bout learning to drive?"

"Well I want to do it, but I'm not sure I'm cut out for it. How can you steer with that round thing? Ain't it hard … ?"

Sirius collapsed on a bed feeling that he was tired enough to be able to sleep on this damned bus, even if it moved like it was on hydraulics. What he wanted most was to sle-

"Sirius?" a voice roused him out of his drowsiness. "Sirius Black?"

Sirius raised his head, reluctantly. Curious as he was, he wasn't too eager for his head to leave his pillow.

Making her way towards his bed was Cecilia Donnelly. He didn't know her personally, but she was a friend of a friend, plus one of the most popular girls in school. Nevertheless, Sirius was tired and cold and not up to socialization as long as his limbs felt like they were made of ice blocks.

"Oh," Sirius said. "Hi. Sorry, not up for a chat right now … come back at a more convenient time please."

"Let me at least get you some blankets," Cecy said with concern. "My God, you look terrible!" In her head, Cecy was saying, _He looks dead! He could be a damned Inferi for all I know! Poor guy, what was he doing out in the snow?_

"Thanks," Sirius said.

"No," Cecy said, "it's just that you look frozen to death. Did you sleep out in the snow?" Sirius heard the rustle of sheets and the soft phulumph of a heavy blanket.

"Yes," Sirius said. "Only for an hour or so."

"You know," Cecy said, "for a guy who's among the cleverest in our year, you're not very smart. It's called hypothermia, Black. Loosen your jacket."

"Excuse me?" Sirius said in alarm.

"Your jacket," Cecy said demandingly, "it's soaking wet. You'd do better off without it."

Sirius did as he was told as Cecy called Ernie Prang for a mug of hot cocoa. Cecy gave Sirius her own hot water bottle and buried him in blankets.

Without so much as a blush she said, "You might want to get out of those pants too. You can take them off under the blankets."

"What will I wear when I have to get out of bed?" Sirius said with annoyance.

Cecy looked at him a moment as though sizing him up and then went into her own suitcase a few beds away. She came back with a pair of oversized sweatpants that looked as though they didn't belong to her. "These should be comfortable. My cousin got mad at me and Engorged them as a joke. Didn't notice till I unpacked for my jumper a while ago."

She turned away as Sirius wriggled under the sheets. He poked his head out from under the blankets and tossed his jeans to dry at the foot of the bed. He looked around for Cecy but she was nowhere in sight and neither was his hot chocolate. Cecy came down with the mug in hand, toothbrush in mouth, and dressed in pajamas, which consisted of an old t-shirt, a bathrobe, and sweat shorts. She handed Sirius his cocoa and proceeded to go back upstairs to the sink so she could finish brushing her teeth.

Sirius sipped his cocoa, which wasn't all that difficult – Shunpike was a good driver, which made him wonder whether Shunpike was Muggle born. He managed well enough and was settled into his blankets, shivering slightly, by the time Cecy came back down.

"Warmer?" she said to Sirius, climbing into her bed.

"Slightly," Sirius said.

"That's nice," Cecy yawned. "Well, good night."

"Well," Sirius began awkwardly, thinking that their conversation could have gone a bit longer, "Thanks."

"No problem," Cecy said, heading back down the bus.

"Wait," Sirius said.

Cecy turned. "Yes?"

"Forgive me for asking … " Sirius said. He considered just letting her be, but he was too curious. "Why are you here and not with your parents or something?"

Cecy's rubbed her eyes and yawned but she answered drowsily, "I went to the mountains with some friends and a couple cousins. Skiing."

"Skiing?"

"This Muggle pastime which involves attaching strips of wood to your feet and sliding down snowy mountainsides steering only with wooden poles," Cecy said.

"Why would anyone want to do that?"

"Well, Lily suggested it (you know Lily right? Of course you do), and the rest of us dared each other to do it. Anyway, her parents chaperoned and they were lovely. Her sister was a prig though – but we had fun with her. Toad spawn in the marmalade and whatnot."

"It's kind of late," Sirius said. "Couldn't have stayed with them a little longer?"

Cecy frowned slightly, then averted her gaze, becoming suddenly interested in the countryside passing by the windows. "I don't know … just needed to be alone for a little while – to think, and stuff, you know?"

"To think," Sirius said. "There's an idea. That's what I should have done."

"Don't know where you're going?" Cecy asked.

"Nah," Sirius answered. "Figure I'll play it by ear."

"Not going home?"

"Anywhere but there."

"Ah," Cecy said. "Any relatives you could stay with?"

"Not really. There aren't many who would take me, and the only ones who would aren't at home."

"Well," Cecy said thoughtfully, "Got any friends?"

Sirius blinked. Of course – he could stay with James. He was there all the time anyway. For a clever guy, he wasn't all that smart. "My brain must have been slowed down by the cold," he said.

"The thought would have come to you eventually," Cecy said, in a playfully indulgent tone.

"I'd throw a pillow at you, but I like the one I have."

She smiled. "Well good night, Sirius Black. Keep warm – otherwise you won't feel the bedbugs bite."

And that had been their first real conversation. And those few moments, bumping down an English country road, would change their lives from there on – providing a source of comfort and happiness when all else would crumble around them. And their lives would crumble and fall apart – already, cracks were forming in the foundations.


End file.
